Countries close to achieving 100% renewable energy

Biogas

With advances and investments in renewable energy made every day, some countries have become almost non reliant on fossil fuels (except cars, planes etc).

Costa Rica

The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) said that around 98.1 per cent of the country’s electricity came from green sources. consisting of a combination of geothermal, hydro electric, wind turbines, solar panels and biomass.

Iceland

Due to Iceland’s geology they can cover most if not all their energy needs from Renewable Sources. Almost 100 percent of electricity production is covered by Renewable Energy, with about 75 percent coming from hydro power and 25 percent from geothermal power. Geothermal power is also used for heating homes and buildings

Bonaire

Bonaire is a small country of the Venezuelan coast. It used to rely on diesel generators to provide electricity to its population and tourist. That all changed in 2004 when their main diesel generator burned down. The country now is now almost achieving 100% renewable energy. In peak times wind energy can provide 90% of the electricity needs of the small Island, they are backed up by Biodiesel Generators. The biodiesel. They plan to produce biodiesel from the abundance of algae.

Lesotho

The small mountainous country which is enclosed by South Africa achieves close to 100% of their electricity requirements through the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. This project was established to provide water to South Africa, with the added benefit to cover almost all of Lesotho’s electricity needs.

Paraguay

Paraquay has one of the world’s largest dams (Itaipu dam), Which provides almost 90% of Paraguay’s electricity and about 20% of Brazil’s electricity requirements.

With future developments and decreasing prices, we will see more countries improving their percentage of renewable energy. Countries like Germany, Denmark and Spain are investing heavily in Renewable Energy

Biogas as an energy source, many people would never consider this as a viable & renewable energy source.

Biogas can be used in many different ways. Cooking, Heating, Lighting, and powering generators and turbines those are all choices to use this source of energy.

Biogas typically refers to a mixture of different gases produced by the breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen. Biogas can be produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste or food waste. Biogas consist of Methane (CH4) & Carbon Dioxide(CO2).

Biogas as a fuel is used for any heating purpose, such as cooking. It is also used to convert it into electricity and heat. Other uses are as fuels for cars and machinery. The use of biogas can help farmers to drive down their input cost by generating their own energy.

Biogas is a clean and renewable form of energy which produces less greenhouse gases than conventional energy sources (coal,oil).

Any organic material is suitable to make biogas, Killing two birds in one, it can assist in the disposal of agricultural waste and organic materials in landfills naturally produce biogas, which can be tapped..

The remaining liquid organic waste (which is left after the production of Biogas) can be used as a fertiliser for crops, which makes the cycle continue and repeat itself.

So who thought that cow manure, rotting plants and landfills can be used to generate energy.